Lecrae has penned an op-ed piece for Billboard, offering his opinion on the recent shooting that left nine dead in Charleston, S.C. last Wednesday (June 17). The Grammy-Winning artist says that ignoring America’s dark history and “the brokenness of our country,” is a major factor behind the Charleston church shooting.

The 35-year-old rapper starts by discussing how the media creates specific narratives of the Charleston shooting based on their audience. One headline reads, “Christians Killed During Prayer Meeting,” while another says “White Man Kills 9 Members of Black Church in South Carolina.” The last major headline focuses on the shooter: ”Dylann Roof, 21, Unexpectedly Kills 9 People.” Lecrae uses all three of these viewpoints to point out that humanity will “undoubtedly create a narrative” because we are condition in our minds that believe when tragedy happens, there must be an antagonist, a protagonist and a storyline to be told. He also asks Americans to be unbiased when remembering America’s history, in a plea for “consistency in love and concern.”

“[M]any times we’d rather ignore the brokenness of our country, which then leaves us limping because we’ve not tended to a serious wound,” writes Lecrae. The Houston native reviews the different responses people have to incidents like Ferguson and the Baltimore riots in comparison to Charleston, and the parallels between slavery and fatherless Black homes. He concludes by asking readers to not view the incidents as Christians being attacked.

“We don’t need a cliché and a proof-text for every social issue,” he wrote. “We need hands and feet in the cities, institutions, and infrastructures. Let’s not simply encourage the oppressed to be calm and act peacefully. Let us in the words of Isaiah 1:17, ‘Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression.’ There is a great antagonist, and it does not have black or white skin. It is the brokenness of humanity. May a love that miraculously mends our brokenness be the protagonist.”

Lecrae holds nothing back in the powerful video for “Welcome to America,” his cut from last year’s Anomaly album. In the song, Lecrae raps from the perspective of a drug dealer, a war veteran and an immigrant while images of seemingly everyday scenes from across the country play out. Though Lecrae is showing scenes that pop up on the evening news everyday, they are even more gripping with his music providing the soundtrack. Hip-hop and music in general needs more visuals like this to keep the non-news watching public aware of what is going on in the world today–especially on our own turf. Kudos to Lecrae for taking a stand. Check out the vid above.

Lecrae has been one of the more vocal artists when it comes to speaking out on Civil Rights issues and other problems in America. In November, the rapper wrote an op-ed piece about Ferguson for Billboard that spoke to the lack of leadership for the youth. “[T]he system we have in place has biases because well…it’s kept by people with biases,” Lecrae wrote. “People like you and me….Disenfranchised, marginalized, and systemically oppressed people were looking for a different outcome with the grand jury,” he wrote. “When that didn’t happen, they acted. There were reckless opportunists sure, but there were also plenty of young, hurt, and angry people who wanted to be heard.”

]]>http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2015/04/lecrae-exposes-truth-welcome-america-video/feed/0Lecrae On Ferguson: There Is A Lack Of Leadership For The Youthhttp://www.xxlmag.com/news/2014/11/lecrae-ferguson-lack-leadership/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=lecrae-ferguson-lack-leadership
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Many within the hip-hop community have responded to the events that occurred this week in Ferguson, Mo., when a grand jury declined to indict Darren Wilson for the killing of Michael Brown. The issue has affected the nation, leading to protests in Los Angeles, Seattle, New York and Washington, D.C., among others. Lecrae—one of the more consciously outspoken rappers of his generation—penned an op-ed for Billboard outlining his thoughts on the issues at hand.

After noting that he doesn’t have all the facts of what happened the day that Wilson, a white police officer, shot and killed unarmed black teenager Brown, Lecrae addressed what he sees as a larger issue at hand. “[T]he system we have in place has biases because well…it’s kept by people with biases,” Lecrae wrote. “People like you and me.”

He then went on to present his view of the broader situation that went down in Ferguson this Monday, when the grand jury’s decision to not indict Wilson was announced.

“Disenfranchised, marginalized, and systemically oppressed people were looking for a different outcome with the grand jury,” he wrote. “When that didn’t happen, they acted. There were reckless opportunists sure, but there were also plenty of young, hurt, and angry people who wanted to be heard.”

There is a lack of leadership for the youth, he continued, and still a divide among America 50 years after the Civil Rights movement took place. To read the rest of Lecrae’s words, check the full piece right here.

Taylor Swift’s latest album, 1989, made history this week. The album sold 1.287 million copies in its first week, registering the largest sales week for an album since June 2, 2002, when Eminem’s The Eminem Show sold 1.322 million in its second chart week at No. 1. The album is also the first to go platinum this year, only a couple weeks after we reported that no album has gone platinum to date, even though Iggy Azalea’s The New Classic comes close. Congrats to Taylor Swift for her major accomplishment.

This week is one of the weakest performances on the chart for hip-hop albums all year. Only three rap albums find themselves in the Top 50; T.I.’s Paperwork, Logic’s Def Jam debut Under Pressure, and Stalley’s Ohio. This week marks the end of Jeezy’s Seen It All and Lecrae’sAnomaly charting in the Top 50, and The Game’s Blood Moon: Year Of The Wolf has dropped out of the Top 50 after a short two-week stint. T.I.’s Paperwork is the highest charting hip-hop album this week, dropping 12 spots from last week to No. 14, selling 23,441 copies. Logic’s Under Pressure took the No. 29 spot this week, selling 12,580 copies in its second week, after selling 73,000 the previous week. Finally, Stalley’s Ohio album landed at the No. 45 spot, selling only 7,537 copies of his debut album, a disappointing showing for an album that had a decent amount of promo behind it.

]]>http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2014/11/taylor-swift-eminem-sales-recap-11-5-2014/feed/0T.I. And Logic’s Albums Land At No. 2 And No. 4 In This Week’s Album Sales (10/29/2014)http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2014/10/t-i-and-logics-albums-land-no-2-and-no-4-respectively-in-this-weeks-album-sales-10-29-2014/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=t-i-and-logics-albums-land-no-2-and-no-4-respectively-in-this-weeks-album-sales-10-29-2014
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T.I.’s Paperwork and Logic’s Under Pressurefinished No. 2 and No. 4 respectively in this week’s album sales, a refreshing sight to see after a few weeks of disappointing hip-hop sales. Paperwork grabbed the No. 2 spot this week with 80,000 units sold, a solid showing for one of ATL’s finest. XXL Freshman alum Logic may be one of the biggest surprises of the year as far as sales are concerned, selling 73,000 units of his Def Jam debut. After releasing solid singles such as “Under Pressure” and “Buried Alive,” it seems as if all of his hard work that got him on our list last year is coming to fruition.

This week sees an improvement from last week as far as hip-hop albums on the charts are concerned, with five albums cracking the Top 50, as opposed to last week’s four. Childish Gambino’s Kauai has ended its three week run on the charts, while T.I. and Logic’s albums are newcomers to the charts this week. Three albums from last week remain on the charts this week; The Game’s Blood Moon: Year Of The Wolf, Jeezy’s Seen It All, and Lecrae’s Anomaly. Blood Moon: Year Of The Wolf dropped 15 spots to take No. 23 on the charts this week, selling 12,466 units. Jeezy’sSeen It All, which has been a mainstay on the charts since its release back in September, stays put at its No. 38 spot from last week, selling 7,271 units. Finally, Lecrae’s Anomaly took the No. 44 spot on the charts, selling 6,410 copies.

Outside of the hip-hop world, Chris Brown’s X grabbed the No. 29 spot, selling 9,991 copies of his 6th studio album. Boyz II Men’s Collide debuted at No. 35 on the charts this week, selling 7,688 copies of their album. To round out the charts, Keyshia Cole’s Point Of No Return album took the No. 50 spot, selling 5,562 copies of her album.

]]>http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2014/10/t-i-and-logics-albums-land-no-2-and-no-4-respectively-in-this-weeks-album-sales-10-29-2014/feed/017 Rappers Pick The Most Underrated Rap Album Of All Timehttp://www.xxlmag.com/news/2014/10/17-rappers-pick-underrated-rap-album-time/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=17-rappers-pick-underrated-rap-album-time
http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2014/10/17-rappers-pick-underrated-rap-album-time/#commentsWed, 29 Oct 2014 16:40:50 +0000http://www.xxlmag.com/?p=451694Related: 10 Rappers Name The Song They Wish They Wrote21 Rappers Explain What Hip-Hop Means To Them13 New York Rappers Name The Best NYC Hip-Hop Album Ever11 West Coast Rappers Weigh In On The Best L.A. Hip-Hop Album EverAfter More Than 20 Years Redman Feels He’s Still Underrated
]]>http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2014/10/17-rappers-pick-underrated-rap-album-time/feed/1The Game’s ‘Blood Moon: Year Of The Wolf’ Debuts At No. 8 On This Week’s Album Sales (10/22/14)http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2014/10/the-games-blood-moon-year-of-the-wolf-debuts-at-no-8-in-this-weeks-album-sales-10-22-14/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-games-blood-moon-year-of-the-wolf-debuts-at-no-8-in-this-weeks-album-sales-10-22-14
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The Game’s Blood Moon: Year Of The Wolf debuted at No. 8 on the charts this week, with 30,544 units sold. It’s a rather disappointing showing for an album that had a good amount of promo behind it, and a few solid tracks with all-star features such as “Hit Em Hard,”“Fuck Yo Feelings,” and “Really” among others. In comparison, Childish Gambino’s Kauai sold over 18,000 albums last week; its second week, with no promo.

Four. That is the number of hip-hop albums that took a spot in the Top 50 this week. With Iggy Azalea’s The New Classic and Flying Lotus’s You’re Dead dropping out of the charts since last week, and The Game’s project charting this week, the only albums that were on the charts last week that remain this week are Jeezy’s Seen It All, Lecrae’s Anomaly, and Childish Gambino’s Kauai. Anomaly grabbed the No. 34 spot this week, dropping only one spot, and selling 8,460 units over the past week. Seen It All has reached the 200,000 total units sold milestone this week, grabbing the No. 38 spot in the process, selling 7,449 copies. Finally, Childish Gambino’s Kauai landed at the No. 42 spot, selling 6,846 units.

As stated in previous weeks, the influx of hip-hop projects in final quarter of the year, such as newly released Logic’s Under Pressure and T.I.’s Paperwork, should see the charts become more favorable towards hip-hop.

Outside of the hip-hop world, Chris Brown’s X continues to have a solid showing on the charts, selling 12,115 units and landing on the No. 23 spot this week. Keyshia Cole’s Point Of No Return took the No. 43 spot, selling 6,846 copies. Tinashe’s Aquarius drops a dramatic 30 spots this week, taking the No. 46 spot, while selling 5,886 units. Finally, Jhene Aiko’s Souled Out lands at the No. 47 spot, selling 5,664 units.

Tinashe’s debut album, Aquariusdebuted at No. 16 on the charts this week, a slightly disappointing showing for an album which had a lead single “2 On” that was arguably the song of the summer. In comparison, one of Tinashe’s contemporaries, Jhené Aiko, debuted at No. 3 on the charts last month with 71,230 units sold of her Souled Out album, with less radio friendly singles in “The Pressure” and “To Love & Die.”

In the hip-hop world, Childish Gambino’s Kauai is the highest charting hip-hop album for the second consecutive week. Gambino’s album sold more units this week than in his debut week, selling 18,159 units and remaining at the No. 17 spot. Flying Lotus’s You’re Dead sold a respectable 10,303 units in its debut week, a solid showing for an independent release. Fly Lo’s album took the No. 31 spot. Lecrae’s Anomaly sold 9,896 units this past week, grabbing the No. 33 spot. Jeezy’s Seen It All will undoubtedly reach the 200,000 units sold threshold next week, but for the time being, the album sold 9,403 units over the past week, netting the album the No. 35 spot. To round things out, Iggy Azalea returns to the charts after a one-week break, with her album The New Classic selling 5,799 units, taking the No. 49 spot. Wiz Khalifa’s Blacc Hollywood has fallen out of the Top 50 for the first time since its release back in August.

Outside of the hip-hop world, Keyshia Cole’s Point Of No Return debuted at No. 11 on the charts, selling a solid 21,809 units. Chris Brown’s X took the No. 19 spot this week, selling 15,899 units over the course of the past week. The aforementioned Aiko sold 5,871 units of her Souled Out album, grabbing the No. 47 spot. And to round out the charts, Trey Songz’s Trigga took the No. 50 spot, selling 5,483 units.

In this age of the Internet, where illegal downloads are just a click away, and where musicians and labels pay exorbitant amounts of money for promotion of projects in an effort to boost sales in a struggling record industry, it is not often that a project that is dropped without any prior warning is able to break into the Top 50. But that’s exactly what Childish Gambino’s Kauai EP did this past week, taking the No. 17 spot on the charts this week, with 15,903 units sold. Shortly after dropping the free mixtape STN MTN last week, Gambino followed it up with the other half of the project, Kauai, which could be purchased on iTunes. It seemed the strategy employed by Gambino worked, reeling in fans through the release of free music, and quickly following up with the release of music for purchase. It will be interesting to see if other artists follow in Gambino’s footsteps.

The rest of the hip-hop world remains extremely quiet this week. Iggy Azalea’s The New Classic, which has been a mainstay on the Top 50 charts for the majority of the year since its release in April, has fallen out of the Top 50 this week, leaving only four hip-hop albums in the Top 50 this week. The aforementioned Kauai was the highest charting hip-hop album this week, at No. 17, followed by Lecrae’s Anomaly, which has fallen four spots to No. 26, selling 11,462 units this past week. Jeezy’s Seen It All has dropped to No. 30 on the charts this week, selling 10,571 copies. The last hip-hop album in the Top 50 is Wiz Khalifa’s Blacc Hollywood which finds itself at the No. 47 spot, selling 6,209 units over the course of the past week.

Though the past couple weeks have not been the best for hip-hop album sales, with albums from big names such as The Game, T.I., Logic, Lil Wayne, and Stalley all planed to drop this month, the Top 50 charts should see an injection of hip-hop projects over the course of the next few weeks.

Outside of hip-hop, Chris Brown’s X continues to do well on the charts, placing at No. 9 this week, selling 22,362 copies. Jhené Aiko’s Souled Out finally reaches the 100,000 total albums sold threshold this week, selling 8,775 units of her album. Jennifer Hudson’s JHUD album dropped 15 spots after debuting at No. 13 last week, selling 8,420 copies. Finally, Trey Songz’s Trigga rose one spot to capture the No. 45 spot with 6,418 units sold.

]]>http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2014/10/childish-gambinos-kauai-ep-unexpectedly-cracks-top-20-in-this-weeks-album-sales-10-8-14/feed/0Watch Lecrae Rock Out With The Roots On The Tonight Showhttp://www.xxlmag.com/news/2014/10/watch-lecrae-rock-roots-tonight-show/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=watch-lecrae-rock-roots-tonight-show
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Lecrae is winning. There’s no other way around it. Still reeling off claiming a No. 1 Billboard spot with his latest album, Anomaly, L Boogy recently stopped by The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and performed his track, “Nothin” backed by the live sounds of The Roots.

]]>http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2014/10/watch-lecrae-rock-roots-tonight-show/feed/0XXL’s Songs Of The Weekhttp://www.xxlmag.com/news/2014/09/xxls-songs-week/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=xxls-songs-week
http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2014/09/xxls-songs-week/#commentsFri, 19 Sep 2014 18:43:24 +0000http://www.xxlmag.com/?p=441843Read more »]]>There’s plenty of new music to sift through. How do you know what is good or bad? Well, that’s where we come in.

Aside from a busy week of interesting news, there’s always a plethora of dope music that drops. Sometimes it’s out of nowhere, and sometimes it is promoted and released right when we expect it. As rap heads, we are all for it and love to talk about the new ish that comes out. In an attempt to keep you up to date with everything, we are going to round up our favorite tracks that we’ve been bumping in the offices. Click through for the best songs of the week.

When it was announced back in July that New York wordsmith Bishop Nehru and MF Doom were working on an album together, hip-hop fans everywhere knew that the project had the chance of being one of the dopest releases of the year. Now, the duo released a track off of the album entitled “Caskets,” which features both rappers gliding smoothly over a laid back instrumental.

After their “Fight Night” (Remix) got the Tennessee Titans in uber trouble, tensions flared regarding their content. Today, they’re back in the news, but this time, for a good reason. The Bando boys decided to team up and give Jeremih’s “Don’t Tell Em’” a whirl. Check out their remix below. Mustard on the beat.

Mick Jenkins lets loose a track that didn’t make his recent mixtape The Water[s] today. “Rain” is both therapeutic and intoxicating, as Jenkins floats on a Kaytranada-produced beat. The sample of Missing Elliot “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” is perfect. Listen to the record above and if you haven’t checked out the Chicago native’s newest project, check it out here.

Lecrae, “Non-Fiction”

Christian rap is having a bit of a moment this week. Lecrae’s Anomaly debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard — a rarity in the subgenre. This is a testament to his supportive fanbase, so he shoots them a thank you in the form of a song. Lecrae celebrates with “Non-Fiction.”

Looks like the view at the top isn’t a cloudy one. Lecrae takes a look back at his come-up and previous struggles over a slinky instrumental. “I volunteered at detention centers to be a leader/ I got these young dudes loving the way I eat the beat up/ I ain’t wanna blow up, just wanted to give ‘em Jesus,” Lecrae rhymes. Clap for him.

Migos isn’t taking their foot off the gas with “Fight Night” being a mainstay in the clubs. They’re more than capable of following up and time will tell if “Trouble” featuring T.I. will be the song to do so. TM808 delivers with the beat, which combines intimidation with idiosyncrasy — like some sort of trap carnival.

“Trouble” doesn’t have the one-liners that their prior two hits had, but it more than makes up for it with a holistic charisma. It’s a call to the club punctuated by a particularly mellifluous and momentous verse from T.I. Check out the turn-up spectacle above.

Christian rap is having a bit of a moment this week. Lecrae’s Anomaly debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard — a rarity in the subgenre. This is a testament to his supportive fanbase, so he shoots them a thank you in the form of a song. Lecrae celebrates with “Non-Fiction.”

Looks like the view at the top isn’t a cloudy one. Lecrae takes a look back at his come-up and previous struggles over a slinky instrumental. “I volunteered at detention centers to be a leader/ I got these young dudes loving the way I eat the beat up/ I ain’t wanna blow up, just wanted to give ‘em Jesus,” Lecrae rhymes. Clap for him.

]]>http://www.xxlmag.com/rap-music/new-music/2014/09/lecrae-non-fiction/feed/0Lecrae Blends A Strong Message With Tight Lyrics On ‘Anomaly’http://www.xxlmag.com/rap-music/reviews/2014/09/lecrae-review-anomaly-album-review/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=lecrae-review-anomaly-album-review
http://www.xxlmag.com/rap-music/reviews/2014/09/lecrae-review-anomaly-album-review/#commentsWed, 10 Sep 2014 19:38:40 +0000http://www.xxlmag.com/?p=439054Read more »]]>Lecrae is probably growing tired of always being referred to as a Christian rapper. After all, other MCs build whole albums (hell, whole careers) around singular themes like weed, women, or crime, and they aren’t pigeonholed with half as much fervor as Lecrae is. But all of the side eyes in the world won’t make ‘Crae shrink away from his subject matter of choice. The independent artist and Reach Records label owner has proudly built his career around his faith, achieving notable success along the way, including a Top 3 Billboard chart and a Grammy win for Best Gospel Album in 2013. On the heels of such critical acclaim, Lecrae’s seventh album seems to have the buzz of a sophomore release. Anomaly is a 15-song LP that takes you inside his experience as an outsider.

Anomaly’s first track is one of the better album intros of 2014. “Outsiders” is a haunting and aspirational ode to misfits, driven by long, simplistic basslines and vigorous strings. In his first 16, Lecrae obliterates the listener’s preconceived notions of a religious musician being corny or basic. His flow is as engaging as they come, with creative rhyme patterns and airtight wordplay illustrating what it’s like to be ostracized. The whole track is chock-full of quotables for Facebook statuses. It sets the tone appropriately for Lecrae’s style throughout the album; engrossing flow that leans heavily on delivery, carried by weighty commentary and a healthy dose of punchlines.

That heavy social/religious commentary is made more digestible with the help of mostly trendy production as well as an impossible to ignore delivery, reminiscent of that popularized in recent years by the likes of J Cole and the TDE crew. “Welcome to America” is an apt example, as tribal chanting and shadowy instrumentals bolster Lecrae’s three detailed stories of racial, social, and financial struggle. “Good, Bad, Ugly” is deceptively catchy thanks largely to the filtered female vocals on the hook, but the content (abortion and sexual abuse at the hands of a female babysitter) is just as taboo as any religious dogma.

The rapper also wisely scatters some lighter, more universally relatable tracks, and they blend in well for the most part. “All I Need Is You” is a hand-clapping love song with a perfectly pitched up vocal sample over a chorus built for the airwaves. The charisma Lecrae oozes every once in a while (Statik Selektah brought it out of him on Population Control’s “Live and Let Live”), is on full display both in his magnetic verses and the accompanying music video.

Unsurprisingly, there are also a handful of moments that fall flat. On “Say I Won’t,” the album’s only featured rapper, Andy Mineo, bites the already questionable Action Bronson line “just a White man excelling in a Black sport.” In regards to distancing himself from the negative stereotypes associated with niche albums, Lecrae succeeds for the most part with a few exceptions. “Nuthin” is a trap-based track comprised of an uninspiring “I Got 5 On It” sample, played out basketball references, and plenty of “you’re better than this” rhetoric. It culminates in what sounds like your dad’s favorite rap song, doing nothing to combat the aforementioned stereotypes. The closing two tracks, “Broken” and “Messengers” are tinged with a supremely dated rock sound, the latter being particularly repetitive.

As a lyricist, Lecrae has a tendency to be pretty literal. Metaphors or double-entendres are relatively hard to come by, and when found, are often worn or one-dimensional (slave chains vs gold chains, for example). That said, his ability to tell a story is on point, his delivery never falters once, and his detailed wordplay, however literal, does acrobatics in terms of rhyme scheme. Anomaly may not entirely break out of its niche, but it’s objectively admirable, and his already established fan base will love it. As for the remaining detractors, Lecrae uses his track “Fear” to wryly spit, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus to all of my haters.”—Rachel Chesbrough

]]>http://www.xxlmag.com/rap-music/reviews/2014/09/lecrae-review-anomaly-album-review/feed/0Five Anomalies That Inspire Lecraehttp://www.xxlmag.com/news/2014/09/lecrae-anomaly-interview/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=lecrae-anomaly-interview
http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2014/09/lecrae-anomaly-interview/#commentsTue, 09 Sep 2014 17:05:09 +0000http://www.xxlmag.com/?p=438626Related: Lecrae Rises Above The Christian Rapper StereotypeLecrae Thinks All Men Should Respect Women In Light Of Ray Rice SuspensionLecrae Wants To Distance Himself From Flame’s Lawsuit Against Katy PerryLecrae “Fear”Lecrae Is Going On Tour
]]>http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2014/09/lecrae-anomaly-interview/feed/0Lecrae Thinks All Men Should Respect Womenhttp://www.xxlmag.com/news/2014/09/lecrae-on-ray-rice-controversy/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=lecrae-on-ray-rice-controversy
http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2014/09/lecrae-on-ray-rice-controversy/#commentsMon, 08 Sep 2014 18:07:26 +0000http://www.xxlmag.com/?p=438430Read more »]]>Baltimore Ravens star running back, Ray Rice, nearly fumbled his career after striking his fiancee in an elevator in Atlantic City back in February. Rice was crucified by the media for his boneheaded mistake and it resulted in him being suspended for the first two games of the NFL season.

Now, new video has surfaced showing Rice hitting his fiancee with an intense haymaker, after the first video merely depicted him dragging her out of the elevator. The brute running back is currently being vilified by social media, and can potentially be suspended for more time, after the video made its way onto the web early this morning.

XXL spoke to Lecrae, and in light of the Ray Rice incident, he shared how he’s teaching his kids right from wrong and the importance of valuing women.

On educating his children:

“I think of a lot of it is just educating them. It’s not trying to shelter your kids. I mean, obviously, there’s some things you want to protect. But, some of it is not trying to shelter it. It’s letting them be exposed to some things, but you being the person that exposes them, and explaining it to them in the proper context, and proper light. Instead of them having to find out for themselves, and say, ‘Whoa,’ and develop their own opinion on some of those things that we know are foul and disrespectful. Nobody did that for me in a lot of ways.”

Treating women with proper respect:

“The first time I heard certain things or certain concepts or saw the way women were treated, it was in a negative fashion. And I just thought that wasn’t the way it was supposed to be. So, I never had the opportunities to hear an alternative perspective on that. And that’s something I wanna give my kids.

“You know, just having a daughter myself, I don’t wanna hurt her. I’m the first man that’s gonna demonstrate to her how a man should treat a woman. So I just wanna make sure I do a good job in doing so, for when she deals with a man she’ll be able to say, ‘Yo. What is this you screaming at me? What is this you throwing stuff at me? What is this you disrespecting me? I don’t know this because my father never demonstrated it. So I don’t have to tolerate that. I never will?’”

Lecrae has found another way to mix religion and rap, this time in print form. The book will offer an inside look on Lecrae’s creative way of thinking, why faith is so important to him and hopefully give non-believers a better understanding of his actions and morals, according to a recent interview with Rapzilla.

“I think a book will help people kind of understand not only the method to my madness,” said Lecrae, “but my heart … I also want the book to reveal, in a lot of ways, kind of the faith that I hold, and why I believe what I believe. People outside of the faith will be able to say, ‘Okay, okay, I think I get it a little bit more.’”

No official release date has been revealed for the book. So until that day comes, be sure to check out Lecrae’s latest album Anomalyor check him out starting this October in the “Anomaly Tour“.

]]>http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2014/09/lecrae-releasing-book/feed/0Lecrae Will Stop At Nothing In “All I Need Is You” Videohttp://www.xxlmag.com/rap-music/new-music/2014/09/lecrae-all-i-need-is-you-video/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=lecrae-all-i-need-is-you-video
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Lecrae aint worried ’bout nothing. The Christian rapper continues to push his most recent LP, Anomaly by dropping the video for the album’s third single, “All I Need Is You.” In the clip, aint no mountain high enough to stop Crae from getting to his bae as he goes through various mishaps in the process of making it home.

Lecrae is currently involved in a lawsuit filed by fellow rapper Flame. The suit claims their 2008 song, “Joyful Noise,” was tarnished by Juicy J and Katy Perry’s smash hit “Dark Horse.” The prosecution alleges copyright infringements and claims Perry’s song is laced with “witchcraft, paganism, black magic and Illuminati imagery.” However, as Lecrae prepares to release his next album, Anomaly,and go on tour, all he wants to do is distance himself from the legal battle between both parties and concentrate on his music. During his trip to NYC, Lecrae spoke to XXL about the lawsuit and his upcoming album.—Emmanuel C.M.

XXL: Tell me about the Katy Perry lawsuit.Lecrae: The first thing I say is all love and respect to Katy Perry. I have no ill will towards her whatsoever. Even the inflammatory statements that were made, those are not my statements. All the stuff about Illuminati and stuff, those are no me. I respect intellectual property, and it’s my man Flame song that I was featured on. It’s something that he wanted to pursue. I respect his intellectual property and his rights. As far as this is concerned I’m trying to distance myself from all of this and let them handle all of that. I don’t know the beginnings or the ending or the origin of it at all. I was in Hong Kong doing a show and I looked on Twitter and said, “Oh I guess I’m involved in this situation.”

When is the last time you spoke to Flame?I haven’t talked to him—verbally talked to him— in a while. We shared a text or two, but we haven’t really talked about it. I don’t think he’s at liberty to discuss it.

So pretty much you were as surprised as the rest of the world was. That’s crazy.I didn’t know there was a press release. I didn’t know any of that stuff. So that’s where I’m at now.

Are you mad that this news came now during the buildup for your album?Naw, I think the album tells its own story. What a lot of people get caught up in is sensationalism. I’m just about communicating things that are here to stay and matters that we holistically need to discuss. At the end of the day, the album is going to come out and it’s going to be a whole different story.

What do you feel this album is going to do to you?I think if anything it will help people know me a little bit more. The vulnerability and the transparency, people can connect with that. If you can connect with me then you can rock with me. I don’t want people to be fans of my songs. I want them to really connect with me as an artist. We love Kanye’s music, but there’s something about him as well that we find ourselves drawn to artistically. I think that’s what my album will do. I anticipate people connecting—especially outside my current fanbase—[because] I’m talking about a lot of different issues. It’s not “Oh this is just a spiritual album” I’m talking about America, I’m talking about what’s going on the radio, I’m talking about relationship issues, all from my own perspective. I talk about some stuff that I’ve been through. It’s just stuff I think people can connect with on a real level. Hopefully it will open me up to folks.

You said previously that this feels like your first album.I think a lot of times you really meet an artist on his first album. They don’t have all these huge features. They don’t have a lot of the artificial add-ons. You’re getting authenticity from them because they have so much to say. They have a lot to communicate. That’s why this feels like my first album. This is the first time I really been this open and transparent. A lot of times I given like messages or confessions. [But for Anomaly] it’s about how do I deal with or what’s going on with me. It’s really a personal album.

Why do you think hip-hop paints you and artists like Andy Mineo as outsiders?That’s the nature of it. Life is easier with categories. It feels safe when it has a category for it. We like things in a box where we can understand it and we can criticize it. When someone doesn’t fit, we don’t know what to do, it’s outside of our sphere and it makes us insecure.